Polishing or buffing wheel and disks therefor



1943- T. WHITEHEAD V POLISHING OR BUFFING WHEEL- AND DISKS THEREFOR Filed July 24, 1942 INVENTOR.

l v L a z v M 4 4 C II, I? 5 h!" M Patented Apr. 27, 1943 UNETE TENT FFI'CE POLISHING R BUFFING WHEEL AND DISKS THEREFOR Claims.

This invention relates to buffing or polishing wheels, and to the disks employed in constructing such wheels by adhesively securing a series of disks in face to face contact with their peripheries concentrically arranged.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and expeditious, as well as inexpensive way to construct a bumng or polishing wheel that will not ridge or groove the work undergoing finishing.

Another object of the invention is to increase the durability and efficiency of wheels of the character referred to, while at the same time achieving the advantages stated above.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a buffing or polishing wheel embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an edge view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an edge view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an edge view of a single disk fabricated in accordance with the invention, and which is adapted for assembly with other similar disks to form a complete bufiing or polishing Wheel.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a series of disks of the Fig. 4 type, superposed to indicate the method of assembly to be hereinafter described.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a breaker strip or insert forming part of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a fragmental perspective view of a disk, illustrating a modification of the invention.

Fig. 3' is a fragmental edge view of a polishing wheel or buff, illustrating several modifications involving the use of a breaker strip or strips to prevent ridging or grooving of the work.

To prevent ridging or grooving of work undergoing polishing of buffing, various expedients have been resorted to in the past, with more or less questionable results. For example, in some instances the material forming the wheel was folded and pressed to various configurations for achieving the desired results, but the reliability of the structure was imp-aired by the tendency of the folds to straighten and thereby diminish the density of the wheel during usage. In other forms of polishing wheels and buffs, complicated internal structure which was prohibitive from the standpoint of cost, was resorted to in the endeavor to improve the qualities of the product. The wheel of the present invention is designed to obviate the objectionable features of the previously known wheels while. at the same time re ducing the cost and enhancing the durability, efficiency, wheel.

With reference to the accompanying drawing, the character I 9 indicates generally a complete buffing cr polishing wheel constructed of a series of disks 9 placed in face to face contact andheld together by coatings of glue or other adhesive applied tothe contacting faces of the disks. In accordance with common practice, the indidivual disks are made up of sheets or scraps of fabric, or of any conventional bufiing material, compressed into disk form to establish a proper density of the structure. Under customary practice, the sheets or scraps of material constituting a disk are stitched through from one face of the disk to the other, by lines or rows of stitching conventionally indicated by the character E2.

The pattern of the stitching may vary, as well known. the stitching illustrated herein being arranged in concentric circle formation merely for the purpose of the disclosure. Inbuilding up a bufiing or. polishing wheel, it is customary to select any given number of individual compressed and stitched disks, each with a central opening it, and glue them face to face with the central openings it in registry for the mounting of the completed wheel upon a rotating shaft.

The continuous glue lines between. adjacent disks occur at the locations i i, and these glue lines, being straight and parallel, were heretofore a source of considerable trouble due to the tendency of the hardened glue to groove or ridge the work undergoing polishing against the periphery of the Wheel. The tendency to groove or ridge the work has been obviated in the wheel of the present invention. of which the following is a description.

Referring to Figs. l and 5, it will be noted that the individual disks 9 are provided with diagonal or bias cuts iii, such as might be formed by advancing a knife over the periphery of the disks radially inwardly toward the center, with the plane of the knife disposed at an acute angle tov the plane of the disk. Each diagonal out has a leading edge l 6 and a tail edge ll, these edges being disposed at opposite faces l8 and it, respectively, of the disk. Any desired number of cuts such as t5 may be formed in the disk, although only two thereof are shown in the example illustrated by the drawing. The inner ends of the cuts may terminate at any desired point intermediate the center and the peripheral edge of the disk. As will be understood, the

and working characteristics of the the peripheral outer edge of each disk, so that the product resulting when the disk and breaker.

strip connecting them are placed in contact, will have the appearance illustrated by Figs. 2 and 3.

With further reference to the breaker strip, it

may be explained that the opposite faces thereof are glued into the various cuts I of adjacent disks, and the disks themselves are also glued together in face to face contact relationship, with the tail edge II of one cut disposed in substantial registry with the leading edge I6 of the next adjacent disk cut, so that the inserted breaker strip may extend from the diagonal cut of one disk, straight through the diagonal cut of the next adjacent disk, and so on through the diagonal cuts of all the disks constituting the wheel. Thus,

the breaker strip in the ultimate form of the wheel, forms a substantially perfect spiral and may extend through and fully about the wheel periphery, or throughout any desired portion of the wheel periphery, depending upon the pitch or slope of the diagonal cuts and the number of disks constituting the wheel. In the form of the invention as illustrated herein by way of example, 1'

the wheel has two breaker strips, each extending approximately half way around the periphery of the wheel (see Figs. 2 and 3).

In the improved polishing wheel structure as above described, the parallel glue lines between adjacent disks will be effectively broken or interrupted by the breaker strip, making impossible the marking of the work with parallel grooves or ridges that might otherwise result in the absence of the breaker strip.

As was previously mentioned, the angularity of the diagonal cuts I5 relative to the planes of their respective disks, may be varied for the application of longer or shorter breaker strips than that illustrated by Fig. 6. It will at once be understood that a wheel constituted of but three or four disks will require cuts I5 of lesser angularity to the planes of the disks, if the breaker strip is to extend for a substantial distance around the periphery of the wheel. On the other hand, it may be desirable to furnish a given wheel with quite a few breaker strips, and in that event it will be desirable to increase the angularity between the cuts and the planes of the disks, in order that the outer edge of each breaker strip will traverse only a minor section of the wheel periphery.

As will be understood, the breaker strip will function to interrupt the continuity of the parallel glue joints until the buffing wheel wears down to the bases of the diagonal cuts, where the breaker strip inner edge is seated. Wheels that may be used nearly to the core thereof, may be provided with deep cuts and wide breaker strips.

When thin breaker strips of fabric or similar sheet material are to be incorporated in the structure, it will generally be unnecessary to remove any of the material constituting the disk when the cut I5 is made; however, should it be desirable to incorporate a thick or heavy breaker strip, the cuts may be made by removing some of the disk material, as indicated at I50 of Fig. 7. The space I50 of Fig. 7, accordingly, may be considered a diagonal slot or channel formed in the periphery of the wheel, and extending inwardly toward the center of the wheel for a distance such as to accommodate the width of the breaker strip to be employed. When constructing a wheel constituted of discs treated in accordance with Fig; 7, the breaker strip will be incorporated in the same manner as was previously explained in connection with Fig. 5, that is, the leading edge IIG will register substantially with the tail edge of a sub-adjacent disk, while the tail edge III will substantially register with the leading edge of a disk superposed upon the disk of Fig. '7. The breaker strip extending through the slots or grooves I50 of the several adjacent disks constituting the wheel, will form practically a perfect spiral on the working face or periphery of the wheel. In all constructions, the adjacent disks will be secured together in face to face contact by means of an adhesive such as glue, or by any other acceptable form of means for maintaining the proper width and density of the finished wheel. The breaker strip is to be glued or otherwise securely fastened Within the diagonal slots or grooves of the several disks constituting the wheel.

Fig, 3 is illustrative of the working face or periphery of the wheel having different forms of breaker strips incorporated therein, according to the teaching of the basic invention as explained herein. At 20, the breaker strip is of V formation, established by furnishing half of the disks with diagonal cuts extending in one direction, while the remaining disks of the wheel are diagonally cut in the opposite direction, so that the breaker strip begins-at 2I and ends at 22, with its intermediate portion 23 forming a point at which the breaker strip is turned rearwardly in the opposite direction to which it was started. The breaker strip formation indicated at 24 shows a steeper angle of the V formation, and suggests the different variations in the slope of the cuts as previously mentioned herein.

At 25, intermediate the breaker strip formations 20 and 24, there is suggested the possibility of applying a plurality of short breaker strips interrupting the parallel glue lines individually, the breaker strips in those instances being disconnected from one another and connecting a fewer number of disks than comprise the whole wheel. Each individual breaker strip 26, as illustrated by Fig. 8, spans only two adjacent disks, but all of the disks are locked together by reason of the fact that successive breaker strips each connect with an added disk. As will be obvious, the several breaker strips such as 26 of Fig. 8 may each span three or more disks, instead of the two disks shown therein by way of example.

It is to be understood that various other modifications and changes in structural details may be made, based upon the teachings of the various modifications shown in the accompanying drawing, without departing from the spirit of the invention as basically disclosed herein.

In accordance with a variation in the method of assembly of a bufiing or polishing wheel incorporating the present invention, the several individual disks, in uncut condition, may be glued or otherwise secured together in face to face contact, after which the assembled structure may be subjected to a knife or cutter that makes a single diagonal or bias cut through all of the assembled disks in a single operation. Thereafter, a glue impregnated breaker strip may be inserted edgewise into the'continuous diagonal cut thereby formed in the wheel periphery, to result in a structure substantially as described. Anchoring means for the breaker strip, other than glue, may be employed if desired.

What is claimed is:

l. A buffing or polishing wheel comprising in combination, a plurality of flat planar disk elements secured in face to face contact, thereby to establish a succession of substantially parallel joints at the peripheries of adjacent discs, and at least one breaker strip embedded in the peripheries of the individual discs, to diagonally traverse said joints and interrupt the continuity of said joints about the periphery of the wheel, to preclude grooving and ridging of work applied to the periphery of the wheel when rotated.

2. A buffing or polishing Wheel comprising in combination, a plurality of constituent disk elements secured in face to face contact, thereby to establish a succession of substantially parallel joints between adjacent discs, and at least one breaker strip embedded in the peripheries of the individual discs, to diagonally traverse said joints and interrupt the continuity of said joints about the periphery of the wheel, to preclude grooving and ridging of work applied to the periphery of the wheel when rotated, said breaker strip being spirally disposed upon the Wheel periphery from one side face of the wheel to the opposite side face thereof.

3. A buffing or polishing wheel comprising in combination, a plurality of constituent disk elements secured in face to face contact, thereby to establish a succession of substantially parallel joints between adjacent disk elements, each of said disk elements being cut diagonally through from one of its side faces to the other, from the periphery of the disk element toward the center point thereof, with the plane of the cut arranged at an acute angle to the plane of the disk, the diagonal cuts of the disks each having a leading edge and a tail edge, with the disks arranged so that the leading edges of the cuts of adjacent disks register substantially with the tail edges of the cuts of the adjacent disks, thereby to form a continuous diagonal channel traversing the parallel joints between the disks, and

continuous channel, said breaker strip havin an outer edge coinciding substantially with peripheral portions of the disks, and an inner edge seated substantially at the base of the channel, intermediate the peripheries and the cenfrom one of its side faces to the other, from theperiphery of the disk element toward the center point thereof, with the plane of the cut arranged at an acute angle to the plane of the disk, the diagonal cuts of the disks being of uniform depth and each having a leading edge and a tail edge, with the disks arranged so that the leading edges of the cuts of adjacent disks register substantially with the tail edges of the cuts of the adjacent disks, thereby to form a continuous diagonal channel traversing the parallel joints between the disks, and a fiat breaker strip mounted edge wise in said continuous channel, said breaker strip having. an outer edge coinciding substantially with peripheral portions of the disks.

5. A bufi'ing or polishing wheel comprising in combination, a plurality of constituent disk elements secured in face to face contact, thereby to establish a succession of substantially parallel joints between adjacent disk elements, each of said disk elements being cut diagonally through from one of its side faces to the other, from the periphery of the disk element toward the center point thereof, with the plane of the cut arranged at an acute angle to the plane of the disk, the diagonal cuts of the disks each having a leading edge and a tail edge, with the disks arranged so that the leading edges of the cuts of adjacent disks register substantially with the tail edges of the cuts of the adjacent disks, thereby to form a continuous diagonal channel traversing the parallel joints between the disks, and means secured within the diagonal channel to interrupt the continuity of the parallel joints between adjacent disks, at the peripheral portions thereof.

THOMAS WHITEHEAD.

a flat breaker strip mounted edgewise in said 

